Ceasefire draft includes release of 20 living hostages, implying 28 considered dead

A draft of the ceasefire and hostage-release agreement under review by Israel’s security cabinet includes the return of 20 living hostages and the bodies of 28 others, Channel 12 reports.

The inclusion of 28 deceased hostages implies the deaths of two hostages over whose fates Israel had previously expressed “grave concern,” but had not pronounced dead, the network notes.

In May, Israel publicly questioned whether three hostages were still alive, reportedly referring to Israeli hostage Tamir Nimrodi, Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi and Thai hostage Pinta Nattapong. Nattapong’s body was recovered from Gaza in June.

Yesterday, Joshi’s family released a video showing him shortly after his abduction on October 7, 2023, which remains the time of his last known sign of life.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum and the office of Gal Hirsch, the Israeli government’s pointman on hostages, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

An unsourced Channel 12 report says Israel conveyed a list to Hamas of 20 living hostages it expected to see released, and that Hamas confirmed the 20 names as those of living hostages.